Workers from six nations file suit against Wal-Mart

They contend Wal-Mart allows suppliers to use sweatshops

Reuters News Service

Published
5:30 am CDT, Wednesday, September 14, 2005

LOS ANGELES - Workers in six countries filed a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores on Tuesday, claiming the world's largest retailer overlooks sweatshop conditions at toy and clothing factories from China to Nicaragua.

The suit, filed in California state court in Los Angeles, lists as plaintiffs 15 workers in Bangladesh, Swaziland, Indonesia, China and Nicaragua. They claim they were paid below minimum wage, forced to work unpaid overtime and in some cases even endured beatings by supervisors.

The lawsuit also lists four California plaintiffs, including two unionized workers at Kroger Co. unit Ralphs and Safeway grocery stores, who claim Wal-Mart's entry into Southern California forced their employers to reduce pay and benefits.

The suit could cover anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 workers, according to attorney Terry Collingsworth of the International Labor Rights Fund, which represents the plaintiffs. Wal-Mart's potential liability could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.

Beth Keck, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart's international operations, said the retailer had not been formally served with the lawsuit, but had received a copy from journalists who obtained it from lawyers.

"It's really too early for us to be able to say anything about this particular complaint," Keck said. "It involves a number of companies and manufacturers and we're just beginning our research to learn more."

Critics say that Wal-Mart's low-price obsession has pressured store managers to overwork nonunion employees, and the retailer has been hit with dozens of lawsuits claiming violations of wage-and-hour laws.

The company has also been the target of discrimination lawsuits. Last year, a judge said a lawsuit that charges the company discriminated against women in pay, promotions and training could proceed as a class action. That suit, the largest workplace bias lawsuit ever in the U.S., covers as many as 1.6 million current and former female U.S. employees.

The plaintiffs allege Wal-Mart's "vast economic power" allows it to impose price and time requirements on supplier factories that result in sweatshop conditions.